M A R I A S K V I K
M E Z Z O S O P R A N O and T R A D I T I O N A L F O L K S I N G E R
The first songs I can remember learning was traditional norwegian music. It was melancholic lullabies, mysterious songs, love songs, cattle calls and dances. And let's not forget the traditional hymns. I grew up in many places, from the narrow Aurlandsfjord to the wide open coastal landscape of Nordhordland, and then back to the Sognefjord, to Leikanger this time. My sister played the hardanger fiddle, my father played pump organ and tall bass in the local fiddler group in Aurland. My brother eventually caved in and picked up the bass as well. So we arranged, improvised and used the traditional repertoire in my family as if it was our own words and melodies.
I weave this music into my classical concert programs aiming to create a soundscape that is both new and strangely familiar for the audience. I have a great mentor in the traditional singer Berit Opheim, who is an incredible source of both songs and stories! I love how sitting down face to face and learn songs by ear immediately gives you an intimate connection to the repertoire. The same goes for the songs that grab your attention while searching for gold in hand written transcripts at archives. It is a treasure hunt!
Below you can see some of the concert programs where I mix my classical and my traditional repertoire. Please contact my agency Artefact Artist Management for requests or to check the availability of any of the programs.
- Mari
MARI ASKVIK & OSLO CIRCLES
"The Sound of the Reformation"
For a few years now I have been tracing German chorales and their journeys from their origin, via danish hymnbooks all the way to small villages all around Norway. For generations these hymns were shaped and reshaped, taught by ear and sung from the heart. The research makes the foundation for a lot of my work, and in this particular program together with Oslo Circles, you get to hear the original hymns, interpreted by German Baroque Masters, presented back to back with their Norwegian variants kept in oral tradition. Instrumental works and arias from the same period completes the program, and it is always such a joy to make music together with this crew!
OSLO CIRCLES
Astrid Kirschner – baroque violin & artistic leader
Karolina Radziej – baroque violin
Gunnar Hauge – viola da gamba & baroque cello
Karl Nyhlin – gallichon
Mariangiola Martello – chamber organ
For booking contact
"SALMER OG SARABANDER"
Mari Askvik - Sang
Elizabeth Svarstad - Barokkdans og folkedans
Ingeborg Christophersen - Fløyter og orgel
Olav Luksengård Mjelva - Fele og hardingfele
Johannes Martens - Hardingcello og cello
Ingvild Habbestad - Fiolin og nøkkelharpe
Thor-Harald Johnson - Lutt og theorbe
What if the hymns tunes we know and love were originally meant to be danced?
In Hymns & Sarabands, we explore the surprising dance rhythms hidden in the origins of many beloved hymns. Although dancing has long been absent from Norway’s pietistic religious tradition, many hymns have roots in dance music. We bring these rhythms back to life, reconnecting the hymns with the dances that once inspired them.
Together with an exceptional group of musicians, we journey through a rich musical landscape: from Baroque dances and Norwegian folk traditions to German chorales that, when introduced to certain parts of Norway, were transformed into a more Gregorian-inspired style of singing.
Along the way, we encounter the poetry of Thomas Kingo and explore how hymns written centuries ago can still speak to us with striking intimacy and relevance.
And what about today? Are hymns like this still being written? We bring a few examples of contemporary hymn writing and invite you to listen, reflect and decide for yourself.
Hymns & Sarabands is a musical journey through forgotten rhythms, living poetry and the unexpected connections between dance, faith and song.
For booking contact:
MARI ASKVIK & SØLV
"La folia di Setra"
The early music ensemble SØLV invited me to join them for a program with my traditional repertoire, and together we made a program consisting traditional music connected to the annual moving of livestock (transhumance) to the mountains farm (setra in norwegian) and European pastorale music.
In addition to goat callings and stories of the lonely herd life, this program contains nature descriptions, kids games and dance tunes. "La folia" and "Bergamasca" made it's way from the south of Europe all the way into the norwegian traditional music, so when SØLV perform Vivaldi and Uccellini, I can join in with norwegian traditional songs as variations.
In septemer 2026 we recorded this program on the label LAWO Classics, with release date next fall. Stay tuned!
SØLV:
Ingrid Økland, fiolin, viola d'amore, hardanger fiddle
Mari Giske, viola d'amore, bratsj
Gunnar Hauge, viola da gamba, cello
Thomas Boysen, Lutt/ Theorbo /Harding lutt
For booking contact:
MARI ASKVIK &
HANNE MARIT MORDAL IVERSEN
"Scandinavian voices"
"Scandinavian voices" is a lied duo concert with me and Hanne Marit Mordal Iversen, centered around folklore, love, bright nordic summer nights and dark, big emotions.
Hanne Marit has quickly become a renowned art song interpreter, and in this program she brings with her Sibelius, Nyström, Heise and Peterson-Berger. I bring nordic and Norwegian ballads, such as "Horpa" and "Liti Kjersti" as well as norwegian songs by Grieg, Kjerulf and Kvandal inspired by Norwegian folklore. We have become so fond of this program!
-
The original title is "Voix Scandinaves" and was commissioned by and performed the Festival Castel Artés in Mirepoix, France 2026 edition.
For booking contact:
"LOVA LOVA LINE"
The norwegian sun prayer in the video below is just one variant of sun prayers found all over Scandinavia in various forms. We have collected some of our favourites in our production called “Lova Lova Line”. We have combined them with traditional ballads, flower legends and also with gregorian chants once used in norwegian churches. We have done so to make a concert that tells us something about what position Virgin Mary has held here in the north and what role she once played in our every day life.
The reformation moved slowly in Norway, and the traditions around the holy mother was some places kept alive for centuries after the reformation.
For booking contact:
Mari Askvik - singing and musical arrangements
Kjersti Mordal - narrating and singing
Kari Malmanger - singing, bells and harmonium
